Carla Marinucci: Huckabee agrees with governor … sort of

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the GOP presidential candidate who has been called a “dark horse” in the race — and “too nice” to be president — reacted this week to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s call for moderation in the Republican Party, saying that the GOP needs “to be broader … that’s different from being moderate.”

Huckabee was in Beverly Hills on Wednesday to raise money for his campaign when he was asked in a telephone interview about Schwarzenegger’s suggestion last weekend that the California GOP is “dying at the box office” because it has become too conservative and doesn’t appeal to independent voters. The governor made the statements to a hall full of California GOP state convention activists.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to be more moderate in our views of fiscal and social conservatism,” Huckabee said. “I do think that we need to be broader; that’s different than being moderate.

“I’m a conservationist. I think we should be concerned about the environment … I think we ought to have an alternative energy policy and be energy independent in 10 years,” he said.

“… I would say that we should be who we are — we’re for traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life and that’s what’s given us a lot of our real appeal to many people in America.”

Huckabee

But he said “it doesn’t have to mean that we’re closed-minded … that we’re narrow in our focus. We ought to have the broadest possible agenda to improve the country for everybody, even if they disagree with us on some of these issues like marriage and the sanctity of life.”

Huckabee said the Republican Party should look at its tone and whether it appears welcoming to enough Americans.

“I’m conservative … and I really do believe that in the past, conservatives have come across as being caustic and strident,” he said.

“Right now, what people are looking for is leadership that moves America upwards — not necessarily to the right or to the left. Too many people run for office and all they’re interested in is horizontal leadership — left, right … the average American is looking for verifiable leadership and they can tolerate someone who can be a little different than them on the horizontal scale.”

“But they by golly want to make sure … you’re going to take the country in an upwards direction, on health care, with bridges and roads and security, that our neighborhoods are going to be safe. Those are things people really care about. Most people don’t care whether a Democrat or Republican gets them solved … they just want to get some results.”